They are making us look bad

So I need to divulge.

In light of increasing biased and racially charged media reports on “African gangs in Melbourne”, it was time I wrote this post. Have you ever caught yourself watching the news or any other form of media outlet that is reporting on a crime committed by a fellow dark skinned person and your immediate thought is…

“they are making us look bad”.

If you have, then you, like myself countless times before I reached a point of self awareness, are the victim of the model minority myth and institutionalised racism, (a term I have defined and used in my previous posts). How? That ingrained fear of witnessing other darked skinned people perpetuates a white supremacist induced negative stereotype of dark-skinned people as being criminals or dangerous to the broader community is institutionalized racism. Fear that one person’s actions impacts a whole race and maintains stereotypes that dark-skinneded people are angry, violent and dangerous, is white supremacy and anti-black in action. Attempting to be the model minority by “acting Causasian” (whatever that may be) doesn’t protect you from these stereotypes because the model minority myth itself, is inherently racist.

On that tangential note, dark skinned people although historically and contemporaneously portrayed countless times as criminals or aggressors e.g. rapists or murders, are in fact the main victims of this type of crime. Counterarguments such as black on black crime (heavily focused in America) are attempts to deflect the real issues or to make false equivalents.Ask yourself this, if a Caucasian individual were to commit a similar crime to that of a dark skinned person, would you be feeling the same way? Of course not, the media doesn’t propagate the same imagery. In fact, you’re more likely to be initially shocked then indifferent because you are not taught to hate or fear what is white. Let’s take a look at the current way crime is reported in Australia; crime committed by dark skinned teens vs Caucasian teens. Whilst I do not condone violence/ crime (period!) regardless of colour, it is quite evident that the media tends to focus on the colour of an individual and portray any dark skinned people in a negative light when crime is involved. When dark skinned teenagers commit a crime, it is branded a gang crime by “Africans” and demands to deport these criminals follow. An entire continent is then affected by the individual or group of criminals despite committing fewer crimes than their counterparts (refer to the tables)! And don’t even get me started on how imprisonment stats reflect an unjust Australia. That is another post in itself. If Caucasian teenagers commit a crime, they focus on the individual, express their concern for their mental state or state that these “kids need guidance and help”. Double standards in this day and age are only fuelled and perpetuated by a system that reaps benefits of the oppression of another race.

Source: Victorian Crime Statistics Agency

Countless conditioning tactics have and are still being employed to make sure that we the dark skinned citizens feel embarrassed when “one of our own” disgraces us on local, national or international TV, even if it isn’t criminal activity. The fact is, if one dark skinned person commits a crime, THAT IS ON THEM. The judgement should be solely ON THEM not on an entire race. If this was the case, then we would assume that all Caucasians are like Donald Trump. But any rational and conscious person knows this type of thinking hinders any sense of racial unity or growth.

Moving forward, there needs to be an acknowledgement that institutionalised racism, anti-blackness and white supremacist mindsets exist. How do you reach that enlightenment? Self reflection! Understanding and acknowledging that there is a certain privilege afforded to Caucasians is a step. Highlighting this to media outlets and demanding change is another step. You as an individual has the responsibility to “check your friends” when they generalise/ stereotype an entire race based on biased media reports. I urge furtherreading to enlighten your views.